Blank cartridge adapter for rifles



Sept 10, 1957 C. F, MOORE BLANK CARTRIDGE ADAPTER FOR' RIFLES Filed March 18, 1954 nited States Patent Unhce 2,805,602 Patented Sept. 10, 1957 BLANK CARTRIDGE ADAPTER FOR RIFLES Chester F. Moore, Columbus, Ga.

Application March 18, 1954, Serial No. 417,019

1 Claim. (Cl. SLL-14) My invention relates to adapters for gas operated, automatic or semi-automatic rifles which shall be effective to cause the rifle to function as a gas operated weapon when firing blank rounds.

An object of my invention is to provide an adapter which shall be easily attached to the muzzle of the rifle barrel and which when in place chokes or throttles the barrel so that when a blank round is red suicient gas under pressure is confined in the barrel to cause the gas operated reloading and case ejecting mechanisms to function in the same manner as if a live round were tired.

Another object is to provide an adapter of the character designated which embodies a tubular section disposed to fit substantially gas tight over the muzzle of the rifle barrel, there being a restricted Igas passage in the tubular section communicating with the bore of the barrel, together with a rearwardly extending arm connected rigidly to the tubular member and having means at its rear section for -attaching the same to the rifle.

My invention contemplates a blank cartridge adapter particularly adapted for use with the United States Army semiautomatic Me-l rifle and which shall include a gas throtting tube disposed to fit over the muzzle of the barrel, a rearwardly disposed attaching arm having therein a slot adapted to fit over the usual bayonet attaching lug carried under the gas cylinder of the above and other types of ries, together with a rotatable latch member on the arm adapted to co-act with the bayonet lug, thereby to secure the arm and hence the entire device to the rie.

Further and more general objects of my invention are to provide a device of the character designated which shall be economical of manufacture, quickly attachable to and detachable from the rie, and one which shall be light in weight and shall not interfere in any way with the normal functioning, sighting or training use of the rie.

A blank cartridge adapter illustrating the features of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my adapter in place on the muzzle of the M-l rifle, certain parts being broken away and in section;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device removed from the rilie;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view thereof; and,

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken generally along line IV-IV of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention I show the same in place on the muzzle of the standard United States Army military rifle, commonly called the M-l riiic, a portion of which is indicated in the drawing by the letter R. As is well understood, such a riile embodies the barrel and a gas cylinder 11. A piston 12 in the cylinder 11 is mounted on a piston rod 13. The piston rod extends into the breech mechanism of the rie in the manner well understood and not shown in the drawing. A gas port 14 leads from the bore of the barrel 10 into the gas cylinder 11 so that when the rifle res a live round, the piston moves rearwardly to eject the spent case and inject a new round. It is well understood that the back pressure in the rie barrel may be as much as 50,000 pounds by the time the bullet reaches a point outwardly toward the muzzle, past the gas port 14. This pressure is suiliciently large to make the rifle function by the pressure in the cylinder 11 as it acts upon the piston 12. Further, and as is well understood, the rifle may be provided with a bayonet attaching lug 16 beneath the gas chamber. A

My invention consists of a member `18 which may be formed of round stock and which may have an enlarged bore 19 at its rear end disposed to lit substantially gas tight over the muzzle of the riile barrel 10.

Leading through the body` of the member 18 and disposed to communicate with the bore of the rifle barrel is an elongated opening 22. Finally, at the outer end of the member 18 is a reduced opening or port 23.

The member 18 may be welded or otherwise secured to a transversely rounded, horizontal portion 24 of a mounting bracket indicated generally by the numeral 26. The bracket 26 may comprise also the sloping section 27 and the under horizontally disposed arm portion 28.

Adjacent its rear end the arm portion 28 is provided with a rectangular opening 29 disposed to t about the bayonet attaching lug 16. Further, the arms 24 and 28 are oliset relative to each other sufficiently for the slot 29 to lit upon the lug 16 when the enlarged diameter portion 19 of the member 18 is in place over the barrel. It will be understood that there may be suicient eXibility in the arm 26 and sufficient looseness of lit of the member 18 over the barrel to permit the member 18 to slide onto the muzzle of the rie and for the lug 16 to engage in the hole 29.

Pivotally mounted on a rivet 31 or the like, forwardly of the opening 29 is a locking or latch member 32. The member 32 is disposed to engage over the shoulder portion 33 usually carried on the forward edge of the bayonet securing lug 16. Thus, when the member 32 is rotated from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. l the portion 32a thereof engages over the shoulder 33, thus securely locking the entire unit to the rifle. If desired the latch 32 may be provided with a depending part 34 which forms a stop to prevent complete rotation of the latch.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that with my improved unit in place on the rie as illustrated, when a blank cartridge is placed in the chamber 36 of the rie and red, the pressure of the expanding gas is choked bythe passage 23 to build up suicient gas pressure in the cylinder 11 to cause the piston 12 to move rearwardly. It will thus be seen that through the medium of my improved adapter the gas prsure operated rifle may function automatically or semi-automatically with blank cartridges. The advantages of being able to have an automatically functioning rifle when tiring blanks lie in the improved training of infantrymen. Thus, with my improved adapter the trainee gets the feel of the rifle under simulated battle conditions.

While it will be obvious that the amount of choking of the muzzle can be varied by varying the diameter of the hole 23, for the MA rie, tiring the now standard blank cartridges, l nd that the passage 23 should be approximately 1,/3 inch diameter. Further, the passage 22 should be about 3%, inch diameter whereas a 1/2 inch diameter enlarged portion 19 is adequate to t over the muzzle of the barrel. It will be noted that adjacent the meeting ends of the openings 22 and 19 I provide a ta- 3 .l Y pered'section 25, corresponding to the vtaper of the end of the muzzle.' This affords some additional sealing.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have invented an. improved adapter which permits gas VVoperated ri'vtlesr-to operate automatically when tiring blank cartridges andthe like.I 1 My'improved device is easily applied to the riiifeLQquickiy removed therefrom, is economical of manufacture .and otherwise is fully effective'for its intended purpQSes- Y 'While Y I have shown my invention in but one form, it will"l be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not s o'limited`,gbut is susceptible of various'changes and modilcationswithout departing from the spirit thereof, and I desitegftherefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereuponY as are specifically ,set forth in the appended claims.v g Y l InV a blank adapter for attachment to the barrel of gas pressure operated rifles, a tubular member having a hole in its rear end of a `size to ft snugly and slidably over the muz- 2 le/ofthe rie barrel, there being a reduced passage in the front end of the tubular member connecting the bore of the being an opening in the second portion of the bracketV disposed to receive a projecting part of the rie when the tubular member is in place on the muzzleV of the barrel, and a rotatable latch on the second bracket portion disposed to coact with the projecting part of the rifle to removably secure'the adapter to the rie.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 680,327 Hay 1 Aug. 13, 1901 1,671,327` Studler Q- T May 29, 1928 2,442,899 McAllister June 8,"1948 2,448,593

Heising Sept. 7, 1948 

